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Lack of Power

4K views 26 replies 13 participants last post by  moe 
#1 ·
Hi, maybe someone can steer me in the right direction. I have a 98 AU with 164,000 ks on the clock. It seems to be terribly under powered. Whether on take off or increasing speed, I nearly have to floor it. I've replaced plugs, leads, iac, air cleaner, oxygen sensor, fuel filter and had injectors cleaned. It seems to be marginly better with the a/c on, although only just. Could this be the TPS or cat probs, or something else lurking under the hood. What do ya think? Cheers guys.
 
#3 ·
chich said:
You've eliminated many possibilities which is a good start. From here i'd be checking for a clogged up cat or even the fuel pump/regulator to ensure the thing is being fed the right amount of fuel.
O.k. I'll have a look at these possibilities, thanks for your input. Cheers
 
#6 ·
g'day ive owned an ed xr6 for a year now and it was a peice of shit didnt now why,blew the coil the other morning while starting, got the mobile mechanic around and asked if he knew any possiblities ,pulled out the timing light adjusted the distributor,to change degrees before top dead denter and she lights em up off the line just a thought,timing could be shot to shit
 
#9 ·
Hey thanks guys, you've given me plenty to think about and investigate. Much appreciate your thoughts.
 
#12 ·
Hi ya all, another thing I've noticed, it doesn't matter what speed I'm cruising at, if I try to accelerate to speed up or overtake, the engine hesitates then hiccups a little before picking up (every time without fail) could this be something significant? Thanks for your views.
 
#14 ·
i had a cat go in my xr - you could feel it hesitating under load, my exhaust hasnt got any mufflers for the guts of the cat to restrict either so normally it would be alot worse

if its a cat you could possibly hear it rattling at idle - or get a exh shop to look at it
 
#15 ·
also check all the bolts that hold the intake manifold onto the head - if they are loose the car will meter the fuel wrong and it will go slow and feel crap to drive.
 
#16 ·
MrMercury said:
i just had some work done our au2 and found out that speed sensor and knock sensor were not working. got them fixed and u could feel the diference in accelleration strait away ,got a extra 100 k out of a tank to.might be worth getting them checked.catch ya jake

What are the symptoms of faulty knock and speed sensors? Also can you tell me where the knock sensor is located?

Any info would be appreciated.

Thanx!!!
 
#17 ·
BLUAU said:
Hi ya all, another thing I've noticed, it doesn't matter what speed I'm cruising at, if I try to accelerate to speed up or overtake, the engine hesitates then hiccups a little before picking up (every time without fail) could this be something significant? Thanks for your views.
I'm having exactly the same problem with my AU2. I took it to UltraTune to get the diagnostics test done and the results indicated faulty Throttle Position Sensor, Knock Sensor and Speed Sensor. The Knock and Speed Sensor fault codes were recorded by the ECU sometime in the past whereas the TPS was reading low during the test.

The mechanic reckons it's most likely to be the TPS but because the problem appears only when I drive it for about 15-30 minutes on a hot day it could be the other two or a combination of all three.

I haven't replaced any of the sensors yet but I will replace TPS on friday so I'll let you know if there's any difference.

:hy:
 
#19 ·
FlknTuff said:
I'm having exactly the same problem with my AU2. I took it to UltraTune to get the diagnostics test done and the results indicated faulty Throttle Position Sensor, Knock Sensor and Speed Sensor. The Knock and Speed Sensor fault codes were recorded by the ECU sometime in the past whereas the TPS was reading low during the test.

The mechanic reckons it's most likely to be the TPS but because the problem appears only when I drive it for about 15-30 minutes on a hot day it could be the other two or a combination of all three.

I haven't replaced any of the sensors yet but I will replace TPS on friday so I'll let you know if there's any difference.

:hy:
Hey, let me know how you go with the TPS to see if it makes any difference. Thanks.
 
#20 ·
Hi, can someone tell me what a "knock sensor" is, and what is its' function? Also, anyone got an idea on the cost of a knock sensor, speed sensor and the tps. Thanks boys - Cheers
 
#21 ·
i believe a TPS is about 140 or 120 bucks, speed sensor should be available from the wreckers for bugger all (5 finger discount works well)

a knock sensor detects when your engine is pinging or 'knocking' and sends a signal to the PCM which then retards the timing until the pinging stops. i think some cars just get a on/off voltage or ground signal while others might get a PWM signal.

i suppose it could hamper your cars performance if it was constantly sending a signal to the PCM indicating a knock condition.
 
#24 ·
FlknTuff said:
It might still be too early to say but the new TPS seems to have fixed the problem. The car now runs OK even on a hot day and with the air-con on.

I'll give it a few days before I pop the cork.

The TPS cost me $73.50.

:driver:
Hey Flkn Tuff, where did you buy your TPS from, was it a genuine or after market product? Thanks dude.
 
#26 ·
If the knock sensor or the speed sensor are stuffed would it come up in a self diagnosis test?
Because my car does exactly the same its it hesitates and i had it put on the dyno and the best run i got said that i had 163 rwkw although it definatly does not feel like it has that much power, i have changed fuel regm injectors, fuel pump that seemed to make abit of a difference, the coil and distributer are fairly new, aswell as plugs, leads, air filter and fuel filter, i am running out of things to try this is very frustrating, according to the dynoit is running rich from about 4600 rpm. Its a el xr6 :S
 
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